Method for enhancing the dielectrical strength of cable using a fluid mixture

ABSTRACT

A method for enhancing the dielectric properties of a new or in-service electrical cable is disclosed, the method comprising supplying the interstitial void space of the cable&#39;s conductor with a fluid mixture comprising 
     (A) an antitreeing agent; and 
     (B) a water-reactive compound, 
     wherein (B) has a diffusion coefficient of at least 1×10 -7  cm 2  /second at 50° C. in the insulation of the cable and the mixture has an initial viscosity of ≦100 cP at 25° C. The instant method provides a more symmetrical distribution of dielectric enhancing fluid in the insulation than prior art fluids and results in a significant reduction in cable treatment time.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for enhancing the dielectric strength of an electrical distribution cable. More particularly, the instant invention relates to a method of contacting the interior of the cable with a fluid mixture which comprises a liquid antitreeing agent and a water-reactive compound, the latter having a diffusion coefficient of at least 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /second at 50° C. in the polymeric insulation of the cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A major problem associated with electrical distribution cable is its tendency, over a period of time, to fail due to the progressive degradation of its insulation. The degradative processes involved in the failure of cables are correlated with two "treeing" phenomena. "Electrical treeing" is the product of numerous electrical discharges in the presence of strong electrical fields which eventually lead to the formation of chnnels within the insulation material. These channels resemble the trunk and branches of a tree in profile under microscopic observation, from which the descriptive terminology derives.

The second type of treeing, known as "water treeing," is observed when the insulation material is simultaneously exposed to moisture and an electric field. This mechanism is much more gradual than electrical treeing, requiring an extended period of time to cause the degree of damage that affects the insulation characteristics of the distribution cable. However, since water treeing occurs at considerably lower electrical fields than required for the formation of electrical trees, this phenomenon is thought to be a leading cause of reduced service life of cables.

It is known that water treeing can be arrested to a degree by the incorporation of an anti-tree additive (e.g., various organosilanes) directly into the insulation composition of the cable at time of manufacture. Unfortunately, this approach only addresses the issue of how to inhibit the formation of trees and the associated deterioration of insulation integrity. It will, however, be recognized that a vast network of underground cable is already in place wherein the cable either has not been treated according to one of these procedures or it has degenerated significantly despite such efforts and is therefore subject to premature failure.

As a partial answer to industry's desire to extend the useful life of existing underground cables, it has been found that certain tree retardants can be introduced into the cable's interior to partially restore the insulation performance. An example of such a cable reclamation technique is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,988 to Bahder. This patent teaches a method for reclaiming electrical distribution cable which comprises: purging the cable with a desiccant gas; then supplying, in a continuous fashion, a liquid, such as polydimethylsiloxane fluid, to the interior of the cable. This disclosure suffers from the disadvantage that the fluid can exude or leak from the cable. This reference addresses the potential loss of fluid by providing reservoirs which can maintain a constant fluid level, further adding to the complexity of this system. A similar method was proposed by Vincent et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,011, wherein the tree retardant fluid was selected from a particular class of aromatic alkoxysilanes. Again, the tree retardant fluid was supplied to the interstices of the conductor of the cable. However, fluid of this prior art disclosure could be polymerized within the water tree voids in the insulation and therefore would either not leak out of the cable or would only exude therefrom at a low rate.

As a variation on the method of Vincent et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,234 to Bertini, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a method for the restoration of in-service electrical cable, which is positioned within a surrounding conduit, comprising filling the space between the cable and the conduit with a homogeneous mixture of a silane antitreeing agent and a dielectric oil, said dielectric oil being completely miscible with said antitreeing agent and having a solubility in the polymeric insulation of the cable of less than 5 weight percent.

The cable reclamation method disclosed by Vincent et al. is effective but typically requires a long exposure time to obtain a fully treated cable. As a consequence, a contractor might find it economically equivalent, or even advantageous, to completely replace a cable once it has deteriorated rather than avail himself of this restorative method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicants have extensively investigated the method taught by Vincent et al. and have discovered that this method is limited by a heretofore undisclosed phenomenon whereby the use of the suggested restorative fluids results in a highly asymmetric treatment of the cable insulation. This asymmetry, which is further described infra, has been correlated to a lower level of dielectric breakdown strength of the treated cable. Due in part to the discovery of this asymmetry, the inventors of the instant application now teach those skilled in the art a method which overcomes this disadvantage and results in a much more symmetrical distribution of dielectric enhancing fluid in the treated cable insulation. Moreover, the instant method results in a significant reduction in cable treatment time over the method described by Vincent et al.

The instant invention therefore relates to a method for enhancing the dielectric properties of an electrical cable having a central stranded conductor encased in a polymeric insulation, the cable having an interstitial void space in the region of the conductor, the method comprising supplying the interstitial void space of the cable with a fluid mixture comprising

(A) at least one antitreeing agent; and

(B) a water-reactive compound,

compound (B) having a diffusion coefficient of at least 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /second at 50° C. in the insulation polymer and the fluid mixture having an initial viscosity of ≦100 cP at 25° C.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the (50% probability) dielectric breakdown of treated cables as a function of the (log) diffusion coefficient of the treating fluid at 50° C.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a cable treated with phenylmethyldimethoxysilane.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a cable treated with a mixture of 70 weight percent phenylmethyldimethoxysilane and 30 weight percent dimethyldimethoxysilane.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of a cable treated with a mixture of 70 weight percent phenylmethyldimethoxysilane and 30 weight percent trimethylmethoxysilane.

FIG. 5 is a plot of the concentration of phenylmethyldimethoxysilane in the insulation of phase 1 of a treated feeder cable as a function of distance from the conductor shield.

FIG. 6 is a plot of the concentration of phenylmethyldimethoxysilane in the insulation of phase 2 of the treated feeder cable of FIG. 5 as a function of distance from he conductor shield.

FIG. 7 is a plot of the concentration of phenylmethyldimethoxysilane in the insulation of phase 3 of the treated feeder cable of FIG. 5 as a function of distance from the conductor shield.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purposes of the invention, the in-service cable is generally of the type used in underground residential distribution and typically comprises a central core of a stranded copper or aluminum conductor encased in polymeric insulation. As is well known in the art, there is usually also a semi-conducting polymeric conductor shield positioned between the conductor and insulation as well as a semi-conducting insulation shield covering the insulation, the latter being ordinarily wrapped with a wire or metal foil grounding strip and, optionally, encased in an outer polymeric protective jacket. The insulation is preferably a polyolefin polymer, such as polyethylene or a copolymer of polyethylene and propylene, or vinyl acetate. As used herein, the term "in-service" refers to a cable which has been under electrical load and exposed to the elements for an extended period. In such a cable, the electrical integrity of the cable insulation has generally deteriorated to some extent due to the formation of water trees, as described above. It is also contemplated, however, that the instant method can be used to enhance the dielectric properties of a new cable as well as an in-service cable.

After the cable has been in operation for an extended period, for example 7 to 15 years, the fluid mixture of the invention is introduced into the interstitial void space of the conductor. Alternatively, a representative section of cable can be removed and subjected to dielectric breakdown tests to determine whether a particular installation is a good candidate for the method of the invention.

The method of the present invention is carried out in the manner described in above cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,011 to Vincent et al., assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent is hereby incorporated by reference to teach dielectric enhancement of a cable by supplying the interstitial void space thereof with an antitreeing fluid. Briefly, the method comprises filling the interstitial void space of the conductor with the fluid mixture, described infra, according to well known methods. The fluid mixture is allowed to remain in the cable interior for an appropriate period while it diffuses into the cable's polymeric insulation to fill the water trees, thereby enhancing the dielectric strength of the cable. The time required for the treatment is a function of such variables as cable size (insulation thickness), water content of the cable components and treatment temperature, less time being required when the cable has a thinner insulation and operates at a higher current load. Those skilled in the art will readily determine optimum conditions for a particular situation based on the following disclosure and routine experimentation.

As is also known in the art, the instant method may further comprise a step wherein water present in the conductor interstitial volume may be removed or its quantity reduced prior to the introduction of the fluid mixture. In this operation, a desiccant gas or liquid, such as air, nitrogen, ethanol or isopropanol, is flushed through the cable interior to either physically push out the moisture or mix with the water to facilitate physical removal. Thus, for example, a high velocity dry air stream may be used to blow out bulk water which has accumulated in the void space.

As already noted, the practice of the above described method using a fluid according to the previously cited patent to Vincent et al. (e.g., phenylmethyldimethoxysilane), results in an asymmetric distribution of the fluid in the cable's insulation. This asymmetry manifests itself as an irregularly shaped penetration front of the fluid in the insulation cross-section when the cable is cut perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. As used herein, the term "penetration front" is defined as the boundary between untreated polymer and polymer into which at least some fluid has diffused. This asymmetry can be observed visually as a general lightening of the polymer into which the fluid has penetrated. Alternatively, an accurate determination of the penetration front can be made by an infrared micro mapping technique, described infra. Thus, during the early phases of treatment with such a fluid, there can be little or no penetration along a given radial direction. These areas represent weak links in the treatment where dielectric breakdown is more likely to occur than in those areas which have been more extensively penetrated by the fluid. Given sufficient treatment time, the fluid would presumably diffuse into all of the insulation, but it is clearly advantageous to have as symmetric a distribution of the fluid as possible throughout the treatment process.

Although the inventors of the instant method do not wish to be bound by a particular theory or mechanism, it is believed that the observed asymmetry is related to the compaction of conductor strands during cable manufacture. Thus, when a typical cable is fabricated, its conductor strands are subjected to uneven pressures as the conductor travels between multiple sets of rollers before the shield and insulation are extruded thereover. This can result in significant compaction of some strands such that little fluid can penetrate the strands in this region. On the other hand, where little or no such compaction occurs, the strands form a relatively loose structure and diffusion into the insulation is not impeded. Further compounding this problem, water, which has been absorbed in the narrow regions between conductor strands within the conductor shield, can also retard the penetration of dielectric enhancing fluid.

The above described asymmetry can be greatly reduced or eliminated by employing a dielectric enhancing fluid comprising a homogeneous mixture of (A) a conventional antitreeing agent and (B) a water-reactive compound having a diffusion coefficient of at least about 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /sec in the cable's insulation at 50° C. Since the fluid must flow through the relatively small cross-sectional area of the cable's interstitial void space, the initial viscosity of this mixture should be no greater than about 100 cP at 25° C., preferably less than about 20 cP at 25° C. When the viscosity is greater, filling the cable with the mixture is difficult and/or too time consuming. Further, the skilled artisan will readily appreciate that the fluid mixture must be completely compatible with the materials of construction of the cable. This applies equally to any reaction products it may form with adventitious water. Thus, for example, the fluid must be compatible with both aluminum and copper conductors, must not cause excessive swelling of either the conductor or insulation shields or interact in any untoward manner with the polymeric insulation. It is preferred that the fluid mixture have a vapor pressure below about 30 psi (207 kPa) at the operating temperature of the conductor, which can be as high as 130° C. under emergency conditions, but generally is no more than 90° C.

The conventional antitreeing agent (A) can be selected from compounds known to prevent water trees in polymeric insulation when compounded into the insulation, and mixtures thereof. Such compounds as aromatic ketones (e.g., acetophenone), fatty alcohols (e.g., dodecanol) and organoalkoxysilanes, illustrate the range of suitable antitreeing agents which can be employed as component (A). Preferably, component (A) has a diffusion coefficient of at least 1×10⁻⁸ cm² /sec and below 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /sec in the cable's insulation at 50° C.

It is also preferred that component (A) be capable of reacting with water to polymerize in the cable insulation after diffusing therethrough. This tends to increase the lifetime of the treatment and precludes the need for perpetual maintenance of the dielectric enhancing fluid. Many such systems have been described in the patent literature and the interested reader is referred to U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,202 to Ashcraft et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,756 to Ashcraft et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,713 to Maringet et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,957 to Braus et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,429 to Barlow et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,306 to Vincent and U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,983 to Vincent, among others.

A particularly preferred silane antitreeing agent is of the type described in above cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,011 to Vincent et al. This compound is represented by the general formula ##STR1## wherein R is an alkyl radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, R' is an alkyl radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, Ar is an aromatic group selected from the group consisting of phenyl and benzyl radicals, x is 1, 2 or 3, y is 0, 1 or 2 and (x+y)≦3. Highly preferred silanes of this type include phenyltrimethoxysilane, diphenyldimethoxysilane, phenylmethyldiethoxysilane and phenylmethyldimethoxysilane, the latter being most preferred.

The water-reactive compound (B) of the present invention is a low molecular weight liquid which is different from component (A), which reacts with water and which has a diffusion coefficient of at least about 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /sec in the cable's insulation at 50° C. When the diffusion coefficient of this component is considerably less than that stipulated, not only is the treatment time extended, but the aforementioned asymmetry of the fluid in the cable is increased for a reasonable treatment time, for example 30 to 120 days.

Component (B) may be selected from trialkylalkoxysilanes, dialkyldialkoxysilanes or organoborates. Component (B) can also be an orthoester having the general structure R¹ C(OCH₃)₃, where R¹ is selected from hydrogen or a methyl radical. Alternatively, component (B) can be an enol ether of the general structure R³ R⁴ C═C(OR⁵)R⁶, where R³, R⁴ and R⁶ are independently selected from hydrogen or alkyl radicals having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and R⁵ is --SiR⁷ ₃, in which R⁷ is an alkyl radical having 1 to 2 carbon atoms. When the above fluids are allowed to diffuse into polymeric insulation materials, such as polyethylene, it has been found that tree formation in the treated materials is retarded relative to a control or when the fluid does not react with water. Specific examples of suitable water reactive compounds, and their respective diffusion coefficients (D) at 50° C. in low density polyethylene (wherein Me denotes a methyl radical and OAc denotes an acetoxy group), include:

Me₃ Si(OMe) (D=2.4×10⁻⁷)

(MeO)₃ CH (D=1.7×10⁻⁷)

(MeO)₃ CCH₃ (D=1.0×10⁻⁷)

(MeO)₃ B (D=2.7×10⁻⁷)

Me₂ Si(OMe)₂ (D=1.4×10⁻⁷)

CH₂ ═C(Me)--OSiMe₃ (D=1.5×10⁻⁷)

From the above description, one ski 11ed in the art will readily appreciate that there will be certain combinations of component (A) and component (B) which will not be suitable for the instant process due to the chemical interaction therebetween. For example, when component (A) is an alkoxysilane, component (B) can not be a borate since the latter would react with the silane to form products which would retard diffusion of component (A) in the insulation. Routine experimentation can be applied to determine whether a potentially reactive combination of (A) and (B) is suitable.

For the purposes of the present invention, the amount of the water-reactive compound (B) that is included in the fluid mixture is the least amount needed to reduce the asymmetric penetration front of the antitreeing agent (A) and the appropriate range may be determined by routine experimentation based on the instant disclosure. Typically, the weight percent ratio of component (A) to (B) is in the approximate range 90/10 to 10/90, preferably in the range of about 70/30.

When components (A) and (B) are selected from compounds which can form oligomers upon reaction with water, it is preferred that these components have a low water equivalent weight, this being defined as the weight of the compound required to react with one mole of water. This preference is suggested by the observation that the oligomers have significantly lower diffusion coefficients relative to the monomers and the intent is to limit the extent of oligomerization in the conductor region so that more oE the fluid can penetrate the insulation as quickly as possible and react with the water therein.

EXAMPLES

The following examples are presented to further illustrate the method of this invention, but are not to be construed as limiting the invention, which is delineated in the appended claims. All parts and percentages in the examples are on a weight basis and all measurements were obtained at 25° C., unless indicated to, the contrary.

Example 1

A cable of the following construction was used in the evaluation of various fluids shown in Table 1:

1/0 AWG stranded aluminum conductor (single strand diameter 0.19 cm), extruded semiconducting conductor shield, 175 mils crosslinked polyethylene insulation, extruded semiconducting insulation shield and tinned copper concentric neutral strips.

This cable was rated at 15 kV (8.7 kV to ground) and had been aged for 3.5 years while submerged in ambient temperature water. During this aging procedure, the cable was energized at 20 kV to ground (60 Hz AC) and water was also added to the conductor region to further accelerate the aging process.

The aged cable was cut into 90 foot long sections and each such section was treated with one of the liquids shown in Table 1 according to the following procedure, one untreated section serving as a control. In each case, 0.2 weight percent of a tetraisopropyl titanate catalyst was added to the fluid. Herein, the following notation is used to represent moieties of the chemical structures: Ph=phenyl radical; Me=methyl radical; Et=ethyl radical; Vi=vinyl; and AcO=acetoxy group.

                                      TABLE 1                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Fluids Used in Example 1                                                       Fluid                                                                               Chemical Structure                                                        __________________________________________________________________________      3                                                                                   ##STR2##                                                                  5   (Ph).sub.2Si(OMe).sub.2                                                    6   ViSi(Me)(OEt).sub.2                                                        7   AcO(CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 O).sub.4CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2Si(Me)(OMe).s          ub.2                                                                      10   NCCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2Si(OEt).sub.3                                          13                                                                                   ##STR3##                                                                 14   PhCHNCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2Si(OEt).sub.3                              15   PhSi(Me)(OMe).sub.2                                                       16   PhC(O)Me                                                                  17   CH.sub.2C(Me)C(O)OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2Si(OMe).sub.3                 18   CH.sub.2C(Me)C(O)N(Me)CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2Si(OMe).sub.3             19   Me.sub.2 Si(OMe).sub.2                                                    20   F.sub.3 CCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Si(Me)(OMe).sub.2                              21   HO(PhMeSiO).sub.x H where x = 2 to 5                                      23   Me.sub.3 SiO(Me.sub.2 SiO).sub.2 Me.sub.3                                 __________________________________________________________________________

First the interstitial space of the conductor was flushed with isopropanol to remove liquid water therefrom. A volume of the isopropanol equivalent to two interstitial volumes was so employed, one such interstitial volume being allowed to remain in the cable conductor for about 20 hours. A fluid was then injected into the conductor interstitial space. Again, twice the interstitial volume of dielectric enhancing fluid was used to flush out the isopropanol. The final fluid treatment was then introduced to the interstitial space and maintained therein by reservoirs at each end of the cable section, which reservoirs were pressurized using a helium blanket at 12 psi (83 kPa) gauge pressure. This condition was maintained for the first 60 days of treatment, after which the reservoirs were drained of fluid and blanketed with helium at essentially atmospheric pressure. After filling the cable interstices with a dielectric enhancing fluid, the cable was again energized at 20 kV to ground (60 Hz AC) and submersed in ambient temperature water for six months.

At the end of six months, each cable section was cut into five equal test lengths and each length was subjected to alternating current (60 Hz) dielectric breakdown tests. The breakdown tests were performed by increasing the applied voltage in ten percent increments every five minutes until the insulation failed. The results of these tests are presented in Table 2, herein the statistically calculated breakdown strength is given at 13, 50 and 87% probability, respectively, based on a Weibull distribution.

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Breakdown Stress at 13, 50 and 87% Probability                                                Breakdown Stress (Volts/mil)                                    Fluid          (13, 50, 87% probability)                                       ______________________________________                                         Untreated      440, 516, 570                                                   Control                                                                         3             635, 966, 1045                                                   5             620, 921, 1085                                                   6             980, 1095, 1185                                                  7             680, 777, 990                                                   10             620, 1042, 1370                                                 13             540, 773, 980                                                   14             400, 738, 980                                                   15             970, 1117, 1170                                                 16             880, 1015, 1210                                                 17             460, 929, 1240                                                  18             550, 725, 975                                                   19             915, 1133, 1320                                                 20             690, 838, 1160                                                  21             465, 509, 560                                                   23             450, 473, 500                                                   ______________________________________                                    

In separate experiments, the diffusion coefficient of each fluid of Table 1 was measured at various temperatures in polyethylene. Representative data at 50° C. is shown in Table 3, wherein powers of 10 are written in engineering form such that, for example, 3.6e-8 denotes 3.6×10⁻⁸. This table also shows the Arrhenius parameters which can be used to calculate the diffusion coefficient D in the approximate temperature interval of 20° to 70° C. according to the equation:

    D=A 10.sup.-Q/T

where (A) is the pre-exponential factor, also shown in Table 3, and T is the temperature in degrees Kelvin.

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Diffusion Coefficient (D) at 50° C. and Arrhenius                       Factors (A) and (K) for Diffusion of Fluids in Polyethylene.                   Fluid     D (cm.sup.2 /sec)                                                                         Q (K)       A (cm.sup.2 /sec)                             ______________________________________                                          3        9.4e-9     4004        2.137e4                                        5        1.6e-8     3742        4.391e3                                        6        7.7e-8     3676        1.744e4                                        7        1.1e-8     --          --                                            10        1.2e-8     4416        6.431e5                                       14        7.6e-9     4517        7.174e5                                       15        5.9e-8     3539        5.129e3                                       16        1.3e-7     5380        3.215e9                                       17        2.2e-8     4027        6.564e4                                       18        8.0e-9     5252        1.460e8                                       19        1.4e-7     3607        1.998e4                                       20        4.0e-8     3498        3.254e3                                       21        5.2e-8     2204        3.473e-1                                      23        7.3e-9     3407        3.671e2                                       ______________________________________                                    

The breakdown data at 50% probability (from Table 2) is plotted as a function of the logarithm of the diffusion coefficient (from Table 3) for the various fluids in FIG. 1. All the fluids which do not react with water have been omitted from this plot since these were shown to be inferior with respect to retarding tree formation, as described infra. Fluids 6 and 10 were also excluded from FIG. 1 since it was observed that they interacted with the aluminum conductor to form a gas within the conductor region; these fluids could therefore not be used in the instant method. The data of FIG. 1 were used to obtain the least squares linear equation relating the variables:

    50% Breakdown Stress=253.9 (log D)+2,871

wherein D is the diffusion coefficient and the calculated correlation coefficient (r) is 0.73. From FIG. 1 it can be seen that there is a good correspondence between diffusion coefficient of water-reactive fluids and their ability to enhance dielectric strength of the aged cable.

Example 2

Water trees were grown in polyethylene specimens having defects of known dimension as points of initiation. Each polyethylene sample was molded in the shape of a short-walled cup having a 6 mm thick flat bottom. This cup had a diameter of 70 mm and a wall having a height of 16 mm for the purpose of retaining a liquid electrolyte. Simulated defects were created on the inside surface of the cup's bottom by penetrating the surface with a special needle to a depth of 3.2 mm and subsequently withdrawing the needle. The needle had a diameter of 1 mm (+0, -0.03 mm), a tip angle of 30° and a tip radius of 3±1 micrometers. A total of 16 such defects per specimen were created (arranged in a square pattern) in order to provide a basis for statistical analysis.

Each cup containing the simulated defects was treated with one of the fluids shown in Table 4 by total immersion for 7 days at 50° C. Each cup was then partially filled with a saturated aqueous solution of NaCl electrolyte and immersed in a glass dish which also contained some of this electrolyte, the two electrolyte portions being insulated from each other by the wall of the polyethylene cup. A potential of 5,000 volt AC, 3000 Hz, was imposed between the electrolyte in the cup and the electrolyte in the glass dish, the latter being maintained at ground potential.

After a period of 100 hours at room temperature, the defect area was microtomed and stained with methylene blue dye to reveal the resulting trees, the lengths of which were then measured by optical microscopy. The results are presented in Table 4, wherein the standard deviation of tree length is also given.

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                                          Average Tree                                                  Treatment        Length        Standard                                        Fluid            (Micrometers) Deviation                                       ______________________________________                                         None (Control)   242           30.6                                            Dodecanol        85.8          12.3                                            Acetophenone     92.8          20.8                                            HO(PhMeSiO).sub.x H (x = 2- 5)                                                                  233.1         43.2                                            HO(Me.sub.2 SiO).sub.x H (x = 2- 5)                                                             199           48.5                                            PhSi(Me)(OMe).sub.2                                                                             20.7          6.8                                             Me.sub.2 Si(OMe).sub.2                                                                          21.4          11.8                                            (MeO).sub.3 CCH.sub.3                                                                           56.2          12.4                                            70% PhSi(Me)(OMe).sub.2 /                                                                       13.7          5.9                                             30% Me.sub.2 Si(OMe).sub.2                                                     70% PhSi(Me)(OMe).sub.2 /                                                                       26.7          8.5                                             30% Me.sub.3 Si(OMe)                                                           ______________________________________                                    

From Table 4, it can be seen that, while fluids which do not react with water, such as acetophenone, the hydroxy-terminated siloxanes and dodecanol, can retard tree formation relative to an untreated control, their performance is significantly inferior to that obtained from the water reactive materials.

Example 3

A 750 kcmil (15 kV rated) crosslinked polyethylene-insulated cable which had been aged under actual field conditions for more than 20 years was removed from service and cut into segments. Each segment was treated by injecting a dielectric enhancing fluid into the interstitial volume of the conductor and maintaining the fluid therein for 20 days at a gauge pressure of 10 psig (69 kPa) and at a temperature of 50° C. The fluids used were:

(a) phenylmethyldimethoxysilane, the preferred fluid of the patent to Vincent et al., cited supra.

(b) a mixture of 30 weight percent dimethyldimethoxysilane and 70 weight percent phenylmethyldimethoxysilane.

(c) a mixture of 30 weight percent trimethylmethoxysilane and 70 weight percent phenylmethyldimethoxysilane.

To each of these fluids, there was added 0.2 weight percent of tetra-isopropyl titanate (TIPT) catalyst just before treating the cable segments.

When the above treatments were completed the cable segments were identically sectioned in a transverse direction and the extent of penetration of the respective fluid in the insulation was determined by micro infrared mapping analysis. According to this procedure, the cable insulation was scanned in a radial direction by microtoming sections thereof perpendicular to the length of the cable and using a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) microscope to determine absorbance at 1260 cm⁻¹. This absorption is due exclusively to the stretching deformation of methyl radicals on silicon in the silane and is therefore related to the silane concentration at a given point in the insulation. Twelve such radial scans were made on each cable section (i.e., at 30° increments about the circumference). In each case, the radial distance at which the treating fluid was no longer detected was recorded, these points: defining the fluid's penetration front. This data is presented in Table 5, wherein the outer radius of the cable insulation ranged from about 17,969 to 18,124 micrometers and the inner radius of the insulation was about 13,589 micrometers.

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                                          Penetration of Fluid in Insulation                            Angle of Scan    (micrometers)                                                 (degrees)   Fluid (a)   Fluid (b)                                                                               Fluid (c)                                     ______________________________________                                          0          14094       17659    18124                                          30         15664       17504    18124                                          60         13939       16884    18124                                          90         17969       15489    18124                                         120         16574       17814    18124                                         150         15799       16419    18124                                         180         13589       15954    18124                                         210         13939       16419    18124                                         240         13589       15954    18124                                         270         14404       16264    18124                                         300         14404       16729    18124                                         330         14559       15954    18124                                         ______________________________________                                    

FIG. 2 shows the cross-section of the above described cable and illustrates the diffusion of fluid (a) into the polyethylene insulation thereof. This figure illustrates the cable (10) which comprises a conductor consisting of 61 individual strands (5) of 10 gauge aluminum, a conductor shield (6) covering the conductor and insulation (12) covering the conductor shield, said insulation having an inner surface (9) and an outer surface (13). In this figure, the extent of fluid penetration, as presented in Table 5, is indicated by the circled points (8). The line connecting points (8) represents the penetration front, region (7) illustrating the portion of insulation (12) into which the dielectric enhancing fluid has diffused. In a similar manner, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the penetration profiles for above described fluids (b) and (c), respectively. In these latter two figures, the conductor and conductor shields have been omitted for the sake of simplicity.

From FIG. 2 and Table 5, it can be seen that the penetration front of fluid (a) had a highly asymmetric pattern. Indeed, this fluid was not even detected in at least two of the radial scans. Such areas of little or no penetration represent weak links in the insulation integrity where breakdown is likely to occur in the energized cable. To the contrary, FIG. 3 indicates that the cable treated according to the method of the present invention using fluid (b) under identical conditions had a much more symmetrical penetration front. In this case, all radial directions showed at least some penetration of the treating fluid and the overall penetration was demonstrably greater. This effect was even more pronounced when fluid (c) was used to similarly treat the cable. As shown in FIG. 4, the fluid had completely penetrated the insulation to present a symmetrical "front" which, for all practical purposes, was coincident with the outer perimeter of the cable's insulation.

Example 4

A feeder cable comprising three phases (each 1,000 kcmil, 15 kV-rated crosslinked polyethylene insulation, 61 strand aluminum conductor) which had been in the field for about 23 years was removed from service and treated with an antitreeing fluid of the prior art. The conductor interstitial volume was first flushed with methanol, whereupon phenylmethyldimethoxysilane was introduced and allowed to remain therein for 100 days while the cable was in service. After this treatment, each phase of the cable was subjected to dielectric breakdown testing. Each phase was also sectioned in a transverse direction at the same longitudinal location of the cable for comparison purposes. Upon visual inspection, the cross-section of each phase was observed to have an asymmetric penetration front. The above described micro mapping technique was used to scan four radial directions (i.e., at 90° increments) of each cross-section. A quantitative determination of the amount of phenylmethyldimethoxysilane at various points along each radius was made based on previous calibrations using polyethylene samples which contained known concentrations of this fluid. The results of these experiments are presented in graphical form in FIGS. 5 through 7 for phases 1 through 3, respectively. In these figures, the concentration of the fluid as a weight/volume percent (grams/cc×100) is plotted against the radial distance from the conductor shield (mils) at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees relative to an arbitrary zero. The penetration of fluid in the case of phase 1 is seen to be considerably greater along each radial direction than in the case of either phase 2 or phase 3, wherein at least two of the radial scans showed essentially no penetration. The extent of this penetration and improved symmetry were found to be directly correlated with the breakdown strength of the three phases, these being 284 (phase 1), 196 (phase 2) and 202 (phase 3) volts/mil, respectively. 

That which is claimed is:
 1. A method for enhancing the dielectric properties of an electrical cable having a central stranded conductor encased in a polymeric insulation, the cable having an interstitial void space in the region of the conductor, said method comprising:supplying said interstitial void space with an effective dielectric property enhancing amount of a fluid mixture comprising (A) at least one antitreeing agent; and (B) a water-reactive compound,said water-reactive compound (B) having a diffusion coefficient of at least 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /second at 50° C. in said polymeric insulation and said fluid mixture having an initial viscosity of ≦100 Cp at 25° C., wherein said components (A) and (B) are different.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is selected from the group consisting of trialkylalkoxysilanes and dialkyldialkoxylsilanes.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is an orthoester having the general structure R¹ C(OCH₃)₃, where R¹ is selected from hydrogen or a methyl radical.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is an enol ether having the general structure R³ R⁴ C═C(OR⁵)R⁶, where R³, R⁴ and R⁶ are independently selected from hydrogen or alkyl radicals having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and R⁵ is --SiR⁷ ₃, in which R⁷ is an alkyl radical having 1 to 2 carbon atoms.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is an organoborate.
 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is selected from trimethylmethoxysilane or dimethyldimethoxysilane.
 7. The method according to claim 3, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is (MeO)₃ CCH₃, wherein Me denotes a methyl radical.
 8. The method according to claim 4, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is CH₂ ═C (Me)--OSiMe₃, in which Me denotes a methyl radical.
 9. The method according to claim 5, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is (MeO)₃ B, in which Me denotes a methyl radical.
 10. A method for enhancing the dielectric properties of an electrical cable having a central stranded conductor encased in a polymeric insulation, the cable having an interstitial void space in the region of the conductor, said method comprising:supplying said interstitial void space with an effective dielectric property enhancing amount of a fluid mixture comprising (A) at least one antitreeing agent represented by the general formula ##STR4## wherein R is an alkyl radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, R' is an alkyl radical having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, Ar is an aromatic group selected from the group consisting of phenyl and benzyl radicals, x is 1, 2 or 3, y is 0, 1 or 2 and (x+y)≦3; and (B) a water-reactive compound, said water-reactive compound (B) having a diffusion coefficient of at least 1×10⁻⁷ cm² /second at 50° C. in said polymeric insulation and said fluid mixture having an initial viscosity of ≦100 Cp at 25° C., wherein said components (A) and (B) are different.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is selected from the group consisting of trialkylalkoxysilanes and dialkyldialkoxylsilanes.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is an orthoester having the general structure R¹ C(OCH₃)₃, where R¹ is selected from hydrogen or a methyl radical.
 13. The method according to claim 10, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is an enol ether having the general structure R³ R⁴ C═C(OR⁵) R⁶, where R³, R⁴ and R⁶ are independently selected from hydrogen or alkyl radicals having 1 to 3 carbon atoms and R⁵ is --SiR⁷ ³, in which R⁷ is an alkyl radical having 1 to 2 carbon atoms.
 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is selected from trimethylmethoxysilane or dimethyldimethoxysilane.
 15. The method according to claim 12, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is (MeO)₃ CCH₃, wherein Me denotes a methyl radical.
 16. The method according to claim 13, wherein said water-reactive compound (B) is CH₂ ═C(Me)--OSiMe₃, in which Me denotes a methyl radical.
 17. The method according to claim 10, wherein said antitreeing agent (A) is selected from the group consisting of phenyltrimethoxysilane, diphenyldimethoxysilane, phenylmethyldiethoxysilane and phenylmethyldimethoxysilane.
 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein said antitreeing agent (A) is phenylmethyldimethoxysilane and said water-reactive compound (B) is selected from the group consisting of dimethyldimethoxysilane and trimethylmethoxysilane. 